Researchers 'develop solution for dye wastewater'

Researchers from the US and China have reportedly developed a new system aimed at preventing dye waste from polluting waterways.

According to Chemistry World, scientists have developed a metal oxide cleaning system capable of sucking dye from wastewater "like a sponge".

Juncheng Hu of the South-Central University for Nationalities in Wuhan commented: "In China, about 1.6 billion tonnes of dye-containing wastewater is produced every year, but only a small proportion of this is recycled."

Wastewater containing dye is conventionally filtered using activated carbon. However, the carbon can only be used once and is then commonly disposed of in landfill sites.

Other methods of removing dye from wastewater include method absorption, nanofiltration and advanced chemical oxidation.

Dye can also be removed by using a low-cost technique known as supported liquid membrane, which has the "advantage of achieving selective removal and concentration in single stage", according to Bnet.

Written by Joseph Hutton